Dazzling Hamptons Showhouse

Slide 1 Of Dazzling Hamptons Showhouse

John Bessler and Jonny Valiant

If the extroverted interiors in this Hampton Designer Showhouse on Long Island are any indication, the Hamptons are no place for shrinking violets.

Over 25 designers eschewed quiet palettes and subtle adornments for audacious pattern and daring color in the 8,500-square-foot gambrel roof structure. Turquoise hobnobs with coral. Animal prints flirt with florals. Herringbone cozies up to large-scale stripes. Dressed to the nines, each space seems ready for its moment in the spotlight—eager to impress and inspire. Join us for a tour.

Immediately setting the tone for pattern play is the foyer decorated by Kentucky-based designer Lee W. Robinson. Here, bluegrass meets coastal serenity. Large-scale horizontal stripes in the hues of the Hamptons coastline set the palette, while fabrics and accessories give an unequivocal nod to Kentucky’s equestrian influence. A framed Hermès scarf hangs as art over the stairwell. An upholstered bench with equine legs adds whimsy.

“The colors are derived from the equestrian world—the color of the horses and the leather goods,” explains Lönn. “I prefer rooms in neutral palettes so that the art and people can shine in the space. Cream, brown, gray, dark ebony, black, taupe, and mocha were used with blood-red accents for the coffee table, leather-topped table, and bookcases. The crisp white ceiling, moldings, and doors provide a stark contrast to the neutral palette.”

Spirited yet restful, welcoming yet grand, Skye Kirby Westcott and Nancy Galasso’s great room for Lillian August is a study in contrasts. With its grand proportions, scale and warmth are key elements. A prodigious, clean-lined sectional sofa anchors the space, softened by plum-hued upholstery, a smattering of pillows, and an impactful fabric with pretty details used for window treatments. “We decided to use blues, grays, and purples as our colors,” says Westcott. “We found the perfect fabric for the windows and pillows for the sofa, which is the hero in the room.”

Large-scale furnishings from Lillian August help to balance the proportions of this lofty space. In a corner, a regal hand-painted peacock holds court, its discerning eye surveying the well-appointed scene.

Vibrant somehow seems an inadequate word to describe the dining room designed by the husband-and-wife design duo of Jennifer Mabley and Austin Handler. With its two-toned blue palette and lively mix of pattern, it became the showhouse’s upbeat epicenter.

To encourage engagement, Mabley and Handler chose a peacock blue grass cloth wallpaper that makes a statement but remains casual enough for the beach. Mixed with white woodwork and aqua accents—on the dining chairs, the embellished drum-shade light fixture, the wainscoting, and the ceiling’s coffered panels—“the color scheme is unexpected and fun,” says Mabley. “It’s a dining room worthy of a luxurious Hamptons beach house.”

“Dining rooms are usually the most formal room in a house and often the least used,” says Handler. “We wanted to create a beach house dining room that was not only sophisticated but playful and punchy—a room that entices you to entertain by drawing you in rather than making you feel as though you need to keep out.” Dishes and flatware are from Juliska.

A singularly color-free zone in a multihued house, the kitchen created by Hamptons-based designer Bob Bakes has no fear of standing on its own—vivid color or not. The little black dress of the house, its simple elegance is bejeweled with stainless steel appliances, nickel fixtures, a luminous mosaic backsplash, and Carrara Bianca marble. (“It’s a slightly whiter type of Carrara marble,” notes Bakes.)

A double island with curved walnut-veneered columns makes the large space feel surprisingly cozy. “It’s unusual, in my experience, that a double island can really make a kitchen flow, but this was a rare exception,” says Bakes. “And the curved ends really help to carve the two pieces into the overall fabric of the design.”

The elaborate custom-designed backsplash becomes the centerpiece of the otherwise uncomplicated space—playing off the gray and white of the marble and drawing the eye to its intricate sunburst pattern. “This is a classic example of the phrase, ‘Don’t be afraid to mix it up,’” says Bakes. “I’m a big fan of accents and pleasant distractions in a room—whether through the subtle injection of color or shape or the drama of something like a custom-designed backsplash. Design should be fun and energetic.”

In the adjoining conservatory for Old Town Crossing, Judy Hadlock and Sean Bruns used a mix of intriguing patterns in black and white—flame-stitch upholstery on a tub chair and geometric throw pillows—to create a restful albeit visually striking room perfect for lounging. A weighty black-lacquered coffee table with chow legs anchors the room, crowned by a shapely chandelier—feminine and flowery yet substantial.

Sand, sea, and sky—the Hamptons triumvirate—were the inspirations for the quietly confident den designed by Kate Singer. “I’m always inspired by nature,” says Singer. “The Hamptons landscape is among the most beautiful and inspirational of all. I wanted this room to feel directly connected to that.”

The updated ikat fabric used on the windows was the room’s impetus, sparking a selection of elements with Hamptons appeal—sand-hued linens, a gallery of azure paintings, and diminutive skirted ottomans in the perfect shade of blue. “I was directly inspired by the beautiful blues of the ocean and the sky and the sandy beiges of the shore,” notes Singer. “Each element is represented.”

Turning the lower-level lounge’s biggest challenge—its lack of natural light—into its strongest asset, Greg McKenzie embraced the room’s windowless status and created a cozy retreat made for relaxing. Instead of shunning dynamic pattern and color, the designer saturated the space, installing a burnt-orange embroidered grass cloth on the walls and contrasting it with turquoise accents and dramatic chevron throw pillows.

Billed simply as “Her Space,” Lee Najman’s game room on the lower level had just one thing in mind: utter relaxation. To that end, he used a serene white-on-white cloud-inspired palette and a cocoon-like structure that acts as a comforting room-within-a-room.

“The intention was to create a fantasy space for the woman of the house so that she instantly feels as if she’s in a remote location,” explains the designer. “It’s the shortest trip one can take—to a vacation spot without ever leaving the house.”

For designer Libby Langdon, the goal in the fun room was “to create a relaxed retreat reminiscent of an English club room, with a modern, sexy twist,” she says. “I wanted it to be an inviting space as ideal for cocktails and billiards with friends as it is for quiet moments reading a good book.”

At almost 1,200 square feet, the room’s plan was a challenge. To humanize the space, Langdon used multiple seating and gathering areas and delineated the spaces with sculptural light fixtures and creative furniture placement.

Noteworthy accessories—antique boat replicas, globes, maps, and old books from English Country Antiques—entice interest. “I wanted to visually draw you in as you enter the space,” says Langdon. “I thought of the homeowner as a world traveler who loved collecting lots of beautiful objects. They truly became a focal point of the space.”

The focal point in the playroom by Diane Guariglia was a bit more theatrical. “I designed a room where I envisioned Christian Grey [the main character in the Fifty Shades trilogy] would reside,” notes Guariglia. “I wanted the room to be edgy and sexy, dark and complicated.”

Playing off the cool blues of the showhouse pool, designer Jennifer McConnell chose a water-inspired scheme for the guest suite she created for Pearson Furniture. A blue-and-white palette (with accents of bright coral) and an undulating pattern on the room’s dominant fabric set the watery tone, accented by watercolor pillows and shots of gilded iron.

“I wanted this room to be a comfortable oasis, reflecting the idyllic views of the pool,” says McConnell. “I love layering bold patterns, and I think as long as you have a theme tying your patterns together, you can’t go wrong. In this case, the unifying theme is playfulness and whimsy.”

Contrasting patterns–the tie-dye fabric from Pearson and the striped rug from Karastan–work together swimmingly in the suite, which overlooks the swimming pool. Punchy corals and a gilded light fixture from Circa Lighting offset the cool blue palette. Furniture is from Pearson. Flowers are from Natural Decorations, Inc.

Known for the warm, edited, part-vintage, and part-modern spaces that he creates for clients, Timothy Brown went for full-on color in the beach ball-inspired powder room. “I wanted something that said beach and summer fun,” he says. “I think powder rooms are places that can be unexpected and a little crazy, so I chose high-gloss blue and yellow wallpaper with a red-orange light fixture.”

A feminine palette fills the master bedroom designed by Robert Passal. Various tones of apricot keep the eye moving throughout the space—from the watercolor mural Passal designed with Black Crow Studios to the throw pillows and lampshades. For contrast, a large tufted bed custom-designed by Passal was upholstered in a plush citrus-green cotton velvet. “The concept is that your bed should be as comfortable as your sofa,” says Passal, “and multifunctional.”

The room’s lively, spring-like palette was inspired by a bouquet of flowers spotted at a farmer’s market. “I was having difficulty in conceptualizing a color scheme for the room,” says Passal. “Once I saw this bouquet of flowers in citrusy apricot, yellow, and green, I knew that was it.”

In the intimate master sitting room created by Stephen Mooney, the mix of patterns and jewel tones was inspired not by a floral bouquet but by an equally kaleidoscopic source. Used as draperies, the striking chinoiserie fabric becomes the room’s touchstone. “It’s full of vibrant, rich colors,” says Mooney.

The gray-and-magenta master bath designed by Mercedes Courland is all about glamour. “I wanted to maximize the look of the marble,” says Courland. “I envisioned a rich charcoal wallpaper with a transitional pattern, but it had to be the appropriate scale for this huge space, unifying the traditional builder details such as the coffers in the ceiling and the crown molding with the more modern details.”

A hot pink chaise longue provides a burst of color in the center of the master bath. The throw pillows are covered in a gray-and-magenta fabric from Schumacher that marry the room’s two featured colors.

Both bohemian and traditional, the guest bedroom designed by Katie Leede is pure granny-chic. “My imagined ideal guest for this room is a super-cool grandma who loves art and texture and all things wild and wonderful,” effuses Leede.

While the palette was relatively quiet—watery blue and soft creams—the punch comes from the pattern. Leede used a fabric of her own design to upholster the walls above a soft blue wainscoting. “The wallpaper is definitely the star here in terms of color and intensity,” notes Leede.

In the dramatic nursery by Tamara Kaye-Honey, audacious pattern plays graciously with classic forms. Chosen for its “graphic punch and youthfulness,” says Honey, a coral-and-white fabric by textile designer Lulu deKwiatkowski envelops one wall, coyly coordinating with a large-scale wallpaper used from chair rail to lacquered ceiling. “The bright coral and turquoise along with the pattern were the perfect complement to the dark, moody walls,” says Honey. “The coffered ceiling and wainscot had more impact when painted a glossy, darker shade.”

“My theory is that by mixing old and new with whimsical pieces, patterns, shapes, and colors, the outcome is fresh, playful, full of personality!” the designer explains. Patterns in the nursery are anchored with the nubby and durable “Shaggy Kasbah” carpet from Stanton.

In the guest bedroom designed by Birmingham, Alabama-based designer Tammy Connor, serenity takes a layered approach. “The wallpaper was my starting point,” says Connor. “And while the palette was a natural fit for the coastal setting, changing the direction of the stripe on the walls resulted in a playful design element. We then layered contrasting textures, patterns, and antique furniture, and suspended trouble lights to add some quirkiness to the room—creating a collected-over-time feel.”

Jeff Lincoln mixes textures—woven rattan, teak, and stainless steel—in his arrangement of furnishings from Gloster for the back deck. Outdoor area rug is from Stanton Carpet; lantern by Hinkley Lighting.

Positioned at poolside, Tara Seawright’s pavilion is protected from the sun with draperies of Trina Turk’s fabric for Schumacher. “I wanted it to feel like a living room outdoors, cozy but big enough to seat a large group.” The deep armchair and ottoman are by Laura Kirar for Barlow Tyrie.